


You're Welcome

by Sheysira



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Spoilers, because that cliffhanger was killing me, set right after 6x03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-04-28 11:04:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5088288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheysira/pseuds/Sheysira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick is seeing things. Not quite a chupacabra, but close.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Welcome

Rick's vision was blurred and he could barely breathe. He'd done it now. He'd wrecked the RV and the herd was arriving. He couldn't draw them away from Alexandria, let alone get out himself. They were already stumbling onto the street and he didn't even know if his kids were still alive. The people he just killed had gotten inside the walls; the baby food he found on them told him as much. Hands shaking, he tried again and again to start the engine he knew he just destroyed. He looked around frantically. There had to be something. Anything. He couldn't think or hold back the dry sob. The first walkers were already too close and their moaning was just as distracting as Shane going on beside him over some silly arguement he had with whichever woman he was dating these days as if Rick hadn't just most likely gone and sentenced everyone he knew to death and most certainly killed himself.

He couldn't listen to it anymore and yelled brokenly at the passenger seat.

„Shut up! Just shut up! They are as good as dead now! Just shut up!“ 

Shane frowned looking at the ketchup that had dropped off the fry he was about to eat when Rick's outburst startled him. It landed right on the metal star. Now it was about to slide onto the cloth of his uniform shirt. He put the fry into his mouth and grabbed a napkin from the dashboard. 

„Told ya this would happen, didn't I?“ He wiped at the mess on but it only made it worse, spreading the sticky red almost over the entire left side of Shane's chest. He crunched the napkin up and threw it at the windshield with an unhappy grunt. Then he shot an accusing glance at Rick. „How 'bout you get your head out of your ass and do something about it?“

Rick's face contorted and he tears were falling freely now. „You were right, I got everyone killed. This is on me.“

Shane wasn't impressed by hysterics. „Come on, man, pick up your damn gun and shoot the side window out. Climb out and get your sorry ass to the house on the left of us,“ he barked in that same voice Rick had heard a thousand times when Shane was instructing people on the shooting range. „What are you waiting for?“ 

Rick realised Shane was right. The door was no option, walkers were already swarming the right side of the RV. The first were banging their hands on it, trying to get in. His chances were slim, but it was his best bet.

He got up, grabbed the rifle, stepped into the back of the RV and fired a few shots at the large window. It cracked and would only need a push now. He looked back at Shane who hadn't left his seat, despite the walkers banging at the glass behind him.

„Move!“ he hollered at him and Rick did. Because what else was there to do? He kicked the glass out of the frame and hurried to crawl through on his belly, twisting his body so he'd land on his feet. He paused only to take out two walkers with his knife to save ammunition and was relieved to see Shane had waited for him next to the RV. He hadn't moved on without him. The relief wasn't quite enough to stop his shaking.

„Good,“ Shane whispered now close to his ear, despite the gunfire from just seconds ago. „Now run. Don't look back, you hear me? Go!“ 

And that's what he did. None of the walkers that had wandered past the RV was directly in his path and the ones chasing him all came from behind. He didn't stop to take anymore out and just fled to the house as fast as he could, hoping desperately it would provide some protection. He somehow made it to the door and rattled the handle. „It's locked!“ he cried out, panic getting out of control.

„No time to break it down, brother! The back!“ Rick ran around the house, to find a backdoor or something. He found a porch and massive panorma glass windows over the entire back of the house. They would never hold up against a herd this size and his heart fell.

„Rick!“ he heard his partner behind him and when he looked, Shane was standing next to a sturdy looking metal shed. Its door was slightly ajar and he didn't hesitate, just bolted for it. He didn't check the inside before pulling the door shut behind him and closing it with a latch. He was shoving a heavy workbench in front of the door, blocking it as good as he could, when he heard the snarl. His blood ran cold. He had just locked himself into the dark with walkers and outside the door waited only more. He turned and tried to see anything, but his eyes weren't used to the darkness. He pressed his back to the wall and clutched his knife in his good hand, colt in the other. He fought to calm his madly hammering heart, too loud in his ears, and tried to control his hitched breathing to listen. Where had it been coming from?

„Hey, buddy, easy now. You can get through this. It's only one. Can't you hear?“ Shane's soft voice was right. Now Rick could hear the shuffling and something that sounded like the metalic clincking of metal tools. It came from the left. He holstered the colt and took the rifle, holding it out and carefully poked around with it in the dark until he felt a resistance and heard another snarl and more clinking. Now he knew where. He knew it was standing, could locate the sounds from roughly that height, so he grasped the rifle at it's middle and held it out on chest height. He stepped forward and hoped he was pinning it aginst the wall, pressing the rifle flatly into its chest. He couldn't do much to avoid the grasping hands and stabbed savagely at his best guess on the general direction of the things head. The first stabs missed, the next few just sliced at the thrashing walker's face, but finally he hit true and the noise stopped. He felt the thing going slack and that's when his legs gave out. He just fell back, chest heaving, and he was struggling to keep the noise of his sobs down. He laid on the floor of the shed, covering his face with his hands for a moment. The only reason he still bothered to fight to not fall apart completely was the noise of the herd outside. They seemed to be all around him now. He just bought a bit more time, that was all. Even if the herd wasn't getting him, it just meant it moved on to Alexandria. He knew it had been breached. Even if by some miracle his people were alive, they were now defenseless. He had failed them all and one way or another, he would never see his kids again. He pressed his hands harder into his face to muffle the anguished keening sound that escaped him.

„Hey now, come on,“ Shane was crouched next to his shoulder, his voice a low rumble. „Get up, keep your shit together. They need you.“

Rick lowered his hands and looked up at him. „I failed them. You were so right. I got us all killed,“ he said defeatedly. He could feel tears trickling from the corners of his eyes down the sides of his face into his hairline.

Shane sighed and drew a hand through his hair. He shook his head. „This ain't like you, man. You look pretty much alive. You just gonna give up on them? On your family? On our children? C'mon, you're better than that.“

Rick sat up shakily and looked at Shane who sat himself fully onto the floor next to Rick. Their legs were pointing into opposite directions so they could look at each other. „They're my children,“ Rick pointed out, more on principle than passion at this point. Shane just flashed him his mishievous trademark grin from Before. „Knew that would get you up,“ he chuckled with a wink. „But seriously, man. Have you looked at Judith lately? I'm not so sure 'bout that.“  
Rick didn't have the energy to get really angry. Thinking about them was just too painful. „I tried, Shane. I tried to keep them safe. All of us. I really did, but-“ He broke off, starting to shake again, his face a mask of raw pain. Shane leaned over and pulled him into an embrace. 

„You did, brother, look at how far y'all got! Shh, none of that anymore, c'mon.“ He withdrew a bit and brought their foreheads together. „You just stay put here till those dead motherfuckers have passed by,“ he said tenderly. „You gonna get out of this alive and find whoever else made it. And don't you dare saying anyone is dead until you put a knife into their brains yourself, you hear me?“

Rick nodded, eyes closed, as he tried to compose himself. The moans were louder now outside and he could hear them shuffling by. They didn't seem to have seen him getting into the shed or heard him, so far. Maybe the smell of the one he had taken out was masking his own well enough.

„There, that's better,“ Shane murmured, cupping the side of his face and Rick reached up to put a hand on the back of his neck, old habits kicking in so easily. „Ain't gonna take that long. You gonna get out and back. Some of'em always survive, you know this. You gonna find'em and regroup. You just go on, no matter who's left. Can you do that? For me?“

Rick nodded. First faintly, then again with more conviction. „Yeah,“ he whispered and opened his eyes to look at his best friend. „Yeah, I can do that. Have to.“ He smiled weakly. And Shane smiled back the way only he could, as they were looking at each other in silence.

Rick didn't know how much time had passed like this, but eventually he realised the noises seemed to come from farther and farther away. There was still occasional louder groans, telling him it wasn't safe enough yet to step outside. For the moment he was content just to lean into Shane and bide his time.

Then he heard it. At first he thought he imagined it, but there was the loud roar of a motorcycle approching. He could hear the engine slowing down, probably approaching the RV in the middle of the street. He jumped to his feet and Shane beamed at him from beside the workbench. „Looks like your ride outta here has arrived.“ With Shane's help Rick pulled the workbench from the door and peered outside. He could see about five stragglers in the backyard that started to turn into the direction of the new noise. „You don't have much time," Shane whispered over his shoulder. „Gotta make a run for it, before he leaves.“

In that moment he heard Daryl holler his name. That way he was going to get himself killed. At least Rick could still hear the bike running. 

„Go! NOW!“ Shane bellowed and Rick opened the latch and ripped the door open. He shot the two walkers between himelf and the fastest way back to the road and ran past the rest, hoping there wouldn't be too many in front of the house. He headed for the road, knowing Daryl would have heard the shots. He screamed his name at the top of his lungs, to let him know it was him. He could hear the engine roar up again and thankfully they got louder. Daryl was coming towards him. It took only a few seconds to run to the road, and then he stopped in his tracks, nearly falling over. There were about twenty of them between him and the RV...and Daryl who's shocked face told Rick that he took in the sitution at one glance. Panic on the rise, Rick threw a look back to where he had been coming from and to his horror, the straglers had been catching up. Behind them he could see Shane, ignored by them. Shaking uncontrolably, again he was at a loss of his wits. 

„Stay on the road! RUN!“ Shane screamed across the backyard and without thinking, that was what Rick did. The agitated walkers were somewhat faster than usual and he wouldn't be able to keep up this pace for very long. But he could hear Daryl's bike. Listening to the irregular motor noises, Rick desperately hoped Daryl would make it through the walkers safely. He didn't dare to slow down and check. He had seen him meander through groups of walkers before and knew this was what he was doing now. He heard gunshots and then the roar of the bike finally got louder and louder until Daryl zipped by to stop only a little ahead of him. 

„Jump up!“ Daryl hollered over the noise and Rick didn't need to be asked twice. He swung himself onto the seat behind Daryl who let the bike howl and suddenly the world was rushing by in a blurr. Rick was trembling badly, his heart didn't want to stop beating too fast and his arms were wrapped too tightly around Daryl's chest. He was unable to control his panting. 

But he was alive. 

They both were. 

And now it was time to see who else was and what needed to be done next to keep it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> The end (on top of everything ese) of Thank You 6x03 broke my heart, because the last time I've seen Rick this scared was after Carl was shot. Of coure, being hopelessly obsessed by Shane, it reminded me of how he helped Rick through it and suddenly I was writing this. Basically, I had some fun messing around with Rick's subconscious.


End file.
